One Year Later
by Mysteryguy12
Summary: One year after it happened, some people have moved on, others haven't. Highschool AU. 50 characters, 50 points of view. Rukia is absent, and Ichigo is clueless. What happened, and how does everyone deal with it?
1. Ichigo

So I started this a little while back and wanted to get some headway on it before I started submitting it. It is a large scale writing project that I have undertaken and as usual, I don't have a lot of faith that I will ever complete it. However, I thought I might at least submit a few of the chapters and see what the feedback is on it.

The chapters are short and all of them are from another character's point of view so, this is sort of a test of my writing ability and my understanding of the characters. This will take place in an alternate universe, high school setting, with all of the characters somehow involved in the school. Teachers, students, whatever. The story will progress over the period of a day, and hopefully everything will come together how I want it. But 50 chapters is a long time to drag things out. So let's see how I do. Your reviews are unbelievably appreciated and will help me write more. So do review if you want to see more. Anyway, here you all go.

-1-

Ichigo Kurosaki

Another day at school. I hop up the steps to the entrance and stretch my arms out wide, yawning and trying to shake the last of the sleep out of my body before I get down to business. I slept fine last night, but my idiot dad woke me up an hour early by dropkicking me. I rub my side, which still aches. I bet his stupid goat-chin still hurts a bit as well. Breakfast was good. Yuzu made a really good omelette. She's really something, considering how young she is. She really picked up the slack after mom died. Unlike dad…

Thinking about the family, I push open the doors to the building and make my way down the hall. I don't stop in at my locker, I can do that after home room, or during it if I need to. Besides, I like to get to homeroom early and relax before the more excitable of the class arrive…like Ikkaku or Keigo. It's nice to have such spirited friend, but at the same time, I need my downtime. Home life can be hectic sometimes, so I like to get to school early for some peace and quiet.

Yawning once more, I push open the door to my homeroom and wander in. The class is mostly empty. There are a few students there, and the teacher, of course.

"Morning, Ms. Shihouin," I say, suppressing another yawn.

"It certainly is, Ichigo," she responds without looking up from her newspaper.

Yoruichi Shihouin is the dean of students at school. She's very attractive for being a member of the staff. It's probably why Keigo is always getting in trouble, so he can see her. But Mizuiro's got more of a chance with her than Keigo ever will. And he's into older women. Not that anyone really stands a chance with Ms. Shihouin. Not only is she a teacher, but there's something wild about her…something that can't be tamed. Not that I have any interest in her. She's not my type. I just hear about her a lot from…well Keigo, mostly.

I take my normal seat by the window and put my bag down, sitting and leaning back in my chair. Outside, I can see the school sports field. The track and field team is finishing their morning workout now, finishing up with stretches and the like. I can see Shuuhei from the senior class leading the stretches as he waves them all together. They huddle for a minute and then break, heading back to the locker rooms to change before class.

"Hey, Ichigo."

I turn around in my chair, brought out of my daze. Tatsuki is sitting down in the desk next to mine. She looks a little tired and yawns a little bit as she puts her bag down next to her. I struggle to keep my own yawn down and say hi.

"Hey, Tatsuki. How's it going?"

"Eh, you know," she says simply. "Same old stuff."

"How's karate practice been lately? You guys ready for the tournament yet?"

Tatsuki's eyes light up at the mention of karate. She's been doing it ever since we were kids and she's really good. Last year she got second place in the regional competition, but she fractured her wrist and couldn't compete for a while. She's really dedicated to the club and keeps trying to get me to join, but I don't have that sort of drive in me.

"Well I'm ready to go kick some ass, but the other guys could use some more practice." She turns to me and smiles. "This year, I'm getting first place, you can count on it."

"I wouldn't expect any less." I smile as well. Tatsuki has been my friend for as long as I can remember. It's always nice to see her excited for something.

"Kurosaki-kun! Tatsuki! Good morning!"

Tatsuki turns around with a grin. "Orihime, energetic as always, aren't ya?"

"Yup!" Orihime replies energetically.

Orihime and Tatsuki are really close friends. As a result, I've gotten to know Orihime pretty well. She's a really nice person, and a lot of the guys really have the hots for her. She's really sweet and everything.

"Morning, Orihime," I wave a little bit.

Orihime looks flustered and bows in return. She always acts a bit weird around me, I've found. I hope I don't scare her or anything. A lot of people who don't know me really well think I'm some sort of delinquent because of my hair color and how I can be really aloof sometimes.

"Oi! Ichigo!"

Speaking of delinquents…

"Hey Renji, what's up?"

Renji isn't really a delinquent, but he sure looks like one. He's got tattoos all over his body and some pretty wild hair. But he's a really good guy. We're pretty good friends.

"Not too much," Renji replies. He looks kind of troubled though, so I wait a minute before talking. "Hey, have you seen Rukia?"

Rukia is a friend of ours in the sophomore class. She's really smart, and takes a number of classes with us. She and Renji have known each other since they were kids and are really close.

"Don't you guys normally walk to school together?"

"That's the thing," Renji sits down at the desk in front of me. "She didn't show up when I passed her house, and didn't come out when I knocked on the door." He looks concerned. "So you haven't seen her?"

"No…maybe she just came to school early." She's in a different homeroom, and I didn't run into her in the hall. "I don't know what you're so worried about, maybe she's just tired of you slowing her down on the way to school."

"Tch, whatever." Renji frowns. "Well, lemme know if you see her ok?"

"Sure thing."

I act like this isn't a big deal at all, but I am a bit curious. I can't remember the last time Rukia didn't come to school with Renji. Usually she visits the homeroom to hang out with all of us. She's a really nice girl, one of my better friends to be sure. Well…now that Renji's got me thinking about it, I won't just be able to let it go now. I'll ask someone in her homeroom if they've seen her before first period starts.


	2. Neliel

-2-

Neliel

Late! Late! Oh nooooooo! Oh no oh no oh no! I can't be late to homeroom again! Ms. Shihouin will be really upset! I glance at the clock as I fly down the hall. I've got another 30 seconds left! You can do it Nel! You can do it! Just put in a little more speed! There! The door is there! You can do it! 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…

I come to a screeching halt by the door and grab onto the doorknob, wrenching the door open.

"Nel is here, Ms. Shihouin!"

Everyone in the class looks up at once. They look surprised, except for Ms. Shihouin of course. She just slowly closes her newspaper and puts it down on the desk. She looks up at the clock and then down at me.

"Sit down, Nel." She leans back in her chair. "It is too early for this."

"Yes! Ms. Shihouin!"

I scan the classroom for Ichigo and find him on the other side of the room, already surrounded by people. Drat! The closest seat is four rows away. Oh well. I plop down in that seat and glance over at Ichigo again. He's talking to Renji about something, but I can't hear. He looks like he's concentrating on something important.

Gosh he looks cute when he's concentrating. It's such a shame that homeroom has already started…I want to give him a big ol' hug! Ah well, I can just wait til' the end of homeroom. Not a big deal at all. I was on time for homeroom, Ichigo looks cute…the day is looking bright already.

I scan the classroom some more. It's entirely full now, and everyone is just beginning to settle in and acclimate to the school day again. It had been a fairly boring weekend on the whole. I had a lot of homework for Mr. Barragan's class, and Ichigo wasn't at his house whenever I went to visit.

I put my head down on the desk and begin to pout. It's not faaaaaair! Ichigo is always busy with his other friend. He never has any time for me. I suppose I could be coming on too strongly. He's just so fun and sweet…

"Is something wrong, Nel?"

I snap back to reality to see a hand on my desk. My eyes trace up the hand to a wrist and then up an arm to see Keigo standing over me. He's looking at me weird.

"No, Nel is fine," I respond cheerfully.

Keigo leans down, smiling in the weird way he does. "I'm glad to hear that, because if you ever need anything, I'll be here for you, always."

"No thank you!" I say with a grin. Keigo makes a funny face, the one where his jaw drops and his eyes turn all dark. "Nel has Ichigo if she needs anyone there for her!"

Keigo stumbles back and desperately tries to support himself on a desk nearby. "I-I-Ichigo?" He squirms and then lets out a wail. "Ichigoooooo! How can you claim all these beautiful, large breasted women for yourself and leave me without anyone at all!" He dashes over to Ichigo's desk and leans right in his face. "It's too cruel…too cruel."

"What are you talking about, Keigo?" Ichigo asks, annoyed at the sudden outburst.

I giggle. Ichigo has such a funny face when he's annoyed.

"I'm not doing anything like that, now get outta my way, homeroom's over."

Keigo whines some more as Ichigo gets up and walks out of the room. I giggle again. Ichigo is always so serious. But that's what I love about him! With that, I leap to my feet, grab my bad and dash out into the hall after Ichigo.

"Ichigoooo-oops…" I run into someone with a thud and stumble back, rubbing my head. "Ouchie…"

"Watch where you're going!"

I look up to see Nnoitora glaring down at me. Ugh…of all the people to run into. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Well be more careful, fucking bitch."

He stalks off without another word. I glare at his back. I hate him. I hate him so much. Everyone gets out of his way as he walks down the hall. I guess it would be more honest if I said I pity him. He's so mean to everyone…he doesn't have any friends. I dunno if he's mean cuz he has no friends, or if he has no friends because he's mean…but…well…that doesn't really matter. I look around for Ichigo again.

There he is! He's standing by the water fountain. I ready myself to pounce but see that he's talking to someone else. Ichigo doesn't like it when I interrupt him. He's talking to a sophomore…a really small, nervous looking one. I'll just pounce him when they stop talking.

I wonder what they're talking about…


	3. Hanatarou

-3-

Hanatarou

"Hanatarou!"

I almost drop my books when I hear my name. My heart is thumping in my chest as I turn around. I don't know why I get so nervous all the time. There are a lot of tough upperclassmen that really scare me. To be fair, they've never actually bothered me. But that might just be because I'm so unnoticeable.

"Hanatarou!"

"Oh…Ichigo, hello."

Come to think of it, I don't understand a lot of the upperclassmen. They're all a bit weird. Not just the tough looking ones like Nnoitora or Yammy, but people like Ichigo and Keigo. They all act a bit weird. I don't know why some of them talk to an underclassman like me…but Ichigo knows my name and talks to me a lot. Like right now.

"So have you?"

"Oh!" I blush furiously. "I'm sorry Ichigo, I didn't hear you…I was…spacing out or something. Sorry. Really sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it."

"Sorry."

"Stop apologizing."

"Sor…ok."

"That's better," Ichigo looks at me concernedly. "You seem kinda nervous. You need to be more assertive, Hanatarou."

"I'm alright…" I mumble. I'm not really the assertive type. I wish I could be more like Ichigo. He's always looking out for people and helping them out. He's a really impressive guy.

"Well…I was asking if you saw Rukia in your homeroom today. She didn't come to school with Renji."

"No, she wasn't there," I say. Then I blush. I answered really quickly. Is it weird that I look for her every day? Just to see if she's in class? It's nothing more than that. She's just…really impressive is all. Like Ichigo. Really strong and helpful. I really admire her. It's weird for her not to be in class.

"Ok."

I look up at Ichigo. He looks really thoughtful; kind of worried even.

"Is everything ok with Rukia?"

"Hm?" Ichigo shakes his head and then nods. "Yeah I'm sure everything's alright, I was just curious if you'd seen her."

"I'll keep an eye out for her and tell her you're looking for her if I see her."

Ichigo looks at me funny and smiles.

"Thanks a lot, Hanatarou. That would be a lot of help."

The sound of the bell rings through the halls and we both look up with a start.

"Alright, Hanatarou. I gotta go. I'll see you later."

"Sure thing." I turn to walk to my next class.

"Hey, Hanatarou," Ichigo says suddenly.

"Yeah?" I turn back to Ichigo.

"You're a really nice guy. Thanks for being such a help."

"Oh…uh…" I blush. "No problem. Thanks for relying on me." Without waiting for him to respond, I run down the hall to my class.

As I take my seat and take out my class materials, I start thinking furiously. I've never really thought of myself as a helpful guy before. Everyone around me always seems so extraordinary. I'm just a regular guy. I always thought that was how everyone saw me. But Ichigo called me helpful. And nice. Maybe…maybe I really am a nice guy. That would be nice…wouldn't it?

Alright! That settles it. Today, I'll be on the lookout for Rukia. And when I find her, I'll let her know that Ichigo was looking for her. And then…well then I'll know I was really helpful.


	4. Tessai

-4-

Tessai

Ah, children! Look at all of them! So young, so precocious! All of their little minds ready and willing to learn and grow like a garden of flowers! Soon, under the brilliant rays of the sun, what were once nothing but tiny seeds will sprout and bloom into beautiful unique flowers. And I am the sun! Their teacher! It is my duty to watch over them always and give them all they need to grow up strong and healthy and smart! Oh what a wonderful profession. Truly this is the greatest calling known to man. It matters not what sort of pay I receive; the idea of having touched the lives of so many young ones is enough payment for me.

Indeed, this is a wonderful job, but I mustn't let myself get swept away with emotion! It would never do if the sun were to become too bright out of excitement. Then the flowers would all whither and be burnt under its heat. No, the sun must do its job just as I, the teacher, need to do mine!

"Good morning children!"

They look up at me, like flowers reaching for the sun. Fear not, you will receive my knowledge, just like the warmth from the sun!

"I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, now let us take role."

Fixing my glasses, I rest my hand on the attendance sheet, but do not pick it up. I have memorized the list by now. What sort of teacher would I be if I hadn't?

"Akaba?"

"Here."

"Ayano?"

Here."

"Benkei?"

"Here."

The list proceeds smoothly. Everyone responds quickly to their name as I call them. Silently, I run my eyes down the rows ahead of my attendance. Ah…Rukia is missing from her seat. My eyes flit to the calendar plastered on the wall by the door. I suppose it can't be helped then.

"Hanatarou?"

Silence.

I look back to the classroom. Hanatarou is sitting in the back corner, staring out the window. He seems not to have heard me.

"Hanatarou?" I venture again.

The child does not respond. A low giggle begins to ripple through the rest of the students. I feel my stomach ice over. This is a tragedy! Poor Hanatarou isn't paying attention! I've called his voice twice now and he hasn't responded in the slightest. This is terrible. All the other students are looking at him. When he snaps out of it and realizes this, he will be ridiculed! This is all my fault!

No!

No, Tessai. No, Mr. Tsukabishi. Do not panic. You caused this, and it's up to you to get the poor boy out of this as simply as you can. You cannot risk stunting the growth of any of your flowers. This is your calling. This is your job.

But how to do it? If I call his name again and he doesn't respond, all the children will surely burst out laughing, making the situation worse. I can't ignore him and move on. The children would make fun of him later and he might miss the lecture entirely. What will you do Tessai! Think! Every second wasted digs a deeper hole for Hanatarou! You cannot leave him like this!

There's nothing for it, I'm afraid. You'll need to approach him and get his attention that way. I begin to walk around the desk and down the row to Hanatarou's seat. The class has fallen silent now, watching me. Hanatarou continues to stare off into the distance. His eyes are glazed over. Oh Hanatarou! If only you would turn your gaze back to the sun this wouldn't be necessary!

I am adjacent to his desk now and he still has not noticed. With a deep sigh, I lean forward and rap my knuckles on his desk.

"Hanatarou?"

His head whips around so fast I can feel my mustache rustle. His eyes widen and his mouth opens. A sort of strangled noise barely escapes his throat before his eyes roll up to his forehead and he goes limp, falling slowly out of his chair to my feet.

I stare at the empty space where Hanatarou had recently occupied for a moment before standing up. With a deep sigh, I turn to the next desk in the row.

"Hinamori?"

"Yes, Mr. Tsukabishi?"

"Um…your classmate Hanatarou seems to have…um…fainted." I look down at boy on the floor. "Would you be so kind as to take him to the nurse's office?"


	5. Hinamori

-5-

Hinamori

"Sure thing, Mr. Tsukabishi!" I respond with a smile. I push my chair back and stand up, looking down at Hanatarou. Poor boy is so neurotic sometimes. I lean down and grab one of his arms, hoisting him up and supporting his weight well enough to walk with him. I'm surprised at how light he is. He looks skinny sure…but gosh is he skinny. Can't be healthy for him. Wonder if it has anything to do with those bags under his eyes.

I can hear some of the other boys laughing to themselves as I exit the classroom. Probably just one of the older boys like Nnoitora or Yammy. I don't turn to find out. No need to give them any more attention. They've already got people staring at them in the back of the class. They must be very proud of themselves, repeating a sophomore math class like that. Bunch of idiots.

I shift Hanatarou slightly to balance him better. I guess I can't blame him too much for getting scared. Mr. Tsukabishi is pretty imposing. It's easy enough to see that he means well, but he just doesn't get it sometimes. He tries so hard to connect with the students, but he just comes off as embarrassing and…old.

Not anything like Sousuke. Sousuke knows just how to talk to the students, just how to relate to them. He always says the right things all the time. He's such a remarkable man. He's so smart and mature. I mean…of course he's mature. He's a teacher after all. But not all the teachers come off as mature at this school. Like Mr. Shunsui, for example.

I shudder, thinking of the way he looks at us girls sometimes. I guess he doesn't mean it, but it just isn't professional. There's a line that shouldn't be crossed between student and teacher and Mr. Shunsui sometimes toes that line I think. And that shouldn't be done. It isn't right.

Not that I'd mind if Sousuke…

"Is everything alright, Hinamori?"

A shock runs down my body and I nearly drop Hanatarou. I feel cold and hot at the same time.

"You're face is totally flushed."

"It's nothing, Ms. Unohana! Nothing!" I can feel my face burning. What was I doing, daydreaming like that? Ugh! I'm almost as bad as that Inoue girl! How embarrassing! And to get caught like this by Ms. Unohana…the woman is incredible but she's got this look like she knows everything that's going on in your head.

"Are you certain you don't want to rest for a little while?" Ms. Unohana asks with a smile.

"No! Uh…no. No thanks," I stutter. Her look is piercing, and frightening. I swallow hard. There's no way she can know what's going on in my head. No way she could know what I think about Mr. Aizen just because I was blushing a little bit. No way she could know the things that I want to do…when I think of Sousuke…

"Ahem."

I snap back to reality again. I can feel my face flushing even more than before. She's still staring at me. I shift uncomfortably.

"Well!" My voice is too high pitched so I cough a little to clear it. "Well I was just here to drop of Hanatarou. He passed out in class because…Mr. Tsukabishi…scared him I guess. He's such a nervous boy. He gets scared so easily. I don't think he hit his head, he's just in shock or something. Nothing to worry about, but um…you should take him. I should go. Right now. Get back to class. Haha. I'll be going then? Please?"

Ms. Unohana smiles blankly back at me for what feels like an eternity and then nods. "Of course. Just help Hanatarou onto the bed there and you can be on your way."

I eagerly do as she says and as soon as Hanatarou's head hits the pillow, I make a beeline for the door. That woman knows things, I swear. She can read people. I get a shiver down my spine as I power walk back to class.


End file.
